Category: Americana

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#868 in the Series) is Nomad Planets, You’re Never Alone Until You Panic This is a piece that I’ve been meaning to write for quite some time. What’s taken so long? That’s an easy one. I love this album so much that I never thought I could do it justice with words. I still don’t think I’ll be able to but I had to make sure that you knew about. You can hear the album its entirety below so even if I slobber and make zero sense at least you can just blow me off and just give it a listen. I also want to thank Mark Mybeck for giving us permission...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#867 in the Series) is Josh Halverson, One Shot When you are applying your trade in a neighborhood that many consider to be the hottest breeding ground of stellar artists this side of Brooklyn or Glasgow, and hang up your performing shingle in Austin, Texas, a city that bills itself as “The Live Music Capitol of the World,” it takes a lot of mojo and a boat-load of talent to set yourself apart, and Josh Halverson has both. From the opening track, “Take Me to Forever,” from his excellent new album, One Shot, your ears perk up to the point that would make a Doberman Pinscher proud as you are treated to a...

Song Of the Day by Eric Berman – “Stop The World And Let Me Off” by John Doe & The Sadies I got an email a few weeks ago from Yep Roc Records alerting me to a $5.00 CD sale they were having for a limited time. Well, since I may be one of the last few hold outs in music for physical product over downloads, I couldn’t pass up a look see to find out what they had to offer. Well, several of the featured titles were interesting to me, and at that price I figured how could I go wrong, so I took the plunge and ordered myself a handful of semi-new music. The $5.00 treats that...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Most People” by Dawes Dawes make musical catnip circa 1976 for Mumford-loving, aging boomers who are desperately trying to stay musically relevant, while never ever leaving their musical comfort zone. And along with Fleet Foxes, Dawes have created a sound that is grounded in well-written songs, hummable melodies, plush harmonies and poetic lyrics that are chock full of credibility, offering a welcome relief from the jingoistic sing-a-long fare provided by musical peers like Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers who dominate the charts these days with their brand of feel-good pep rally music. Too bad it isn’t 1976, for if it was, Dawes’ latest album Stories Don’t End would be...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#854 in the Series) is Old Man Markley, Down Side Up (Fat Wreck Chords) There is an interesting thing happening in the pop music world these days. The more things change, the more they stay the same….and yet they still keep changing. Not entirely sure what that means, but this much is true: traditionally defined genres are blending, sometimes being deconstructed altogether, and new fusions are emerging. Especially in the Nashville/ACM scene, groups like Gloriana and Lady Antebellum have managed to get mass market crossover appeal while still winning several critical accolades with a not-exactly-country, not-exactly-pop, just pretty-darn-good sound. Enter Old Man Markley, with a style dubbed “newgrass.”.Energetic without being overly gritty...

Today’s Cool album of the day (#849 in the Series) is The Black Lillies, Runaway Freeway Blues. This marks the band’s third album and I’ll say right here that you should go ahead and not just buy this new one, but first two , Whiskey Angel and 100 Miles of Wreckage as well. You will not be disappointed. It might make sense to tell you a little about the band itself and then get to the details of this new album. The Black Lillies are an independent “Americana” band. They consist of Cruz Contreras – lead vocals, guitar, piano, mandolin; Trisha Gene Brady – vocals, guitar, ukulele, hand percussion; Tom Pryor – electric guitar, pedal steel, dobro, banjo;...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “The Mercy Seat” by Johnny Cash By the year 2000 and the third album in the American series, Johnny Cash had reestablished himself as one of the greatest singers, not just in country music, but in all music. Producer, Rick Rubin, began working with him several years before and allowed Johnny Cash do what he did best in the studio…be JOHNNY CASH! Cash began working with Rick Rubin in 1994. Rubin was the founder of Def Jam Records, and was responsible for producing seminal recordings by Public Enemy and The Beastie Boys. It must have taken quite a leap of faith for Johnny Cash to, not only work with Rick...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#829 in the Series) is Whiskeytown, Strangers Almanac There are very few albums that I can look back on and say that it shaped what I listened to for the rest of my life. Strangers Almanac is one of those albums. I had a roommate that kept telling me that I needed to listen to this artist named Ryan Adams. I kind of had a rule at the time that if the album came out in the 80’s or later I wasn’t that interested. I finally gave it a chance and it redefined my taste in music. Whiskeytown has had three alternative country album releases with various personnel. The only members on...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#823 in the Series) is Shelby Lynne, I Am Shelby Lynne Shelby Lynne had been a recording artist for quite a while by the time this album came out but I think it’s fair to say that things hadn’t been going quite the way she would have liked up until that point. It seemed the time was right for her to take control, make a stand, and get things back on track. Hence the title of this, quite wonderful, album: I Am Shelby Lynne, a definitive statement if ever there was one. It was actually her sixth album, although the first in almost five years, and not so much a comeback as...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “I Lost My Job Of Loving You” by Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale – Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale are both superb songwriters and troubadours. They are country music journeymen who spend their life on the road making music, supporting other musicians and supporting each other. Miller has recorded many records with his wife Julie (under the moniker Buddy & Julie Miller), and has worked with Robert Plant, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Gillian Welch, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Solomon Burke and numerous others. Lauderdale has won Grammy Awards and has worked with and or written songs for George Strait, Dwight Yoakam, George Jones, The Dixie Chicks, Ralph Stanley (of The Stanley...